Leedy Marvel Multi-Model Snare Drum 1925 - Nobby Gold

Circa 1925 Leedy 4 x 14” black nickel over brass snare drum: Multi-Model, Nobby Gold hardware, completely intact with rare Marvel strainer. This rare drum was featured in the April 2021 issue of Not So Modern Drummer magazine.

An excerpt: “The “Marvel” strainer was only shown in the 1925 Catalog “N” and never reappeared. This novel strainer was intended to offer drummers a quick snare release mechanism with the ability to swap out bridges with different snares, e.g., wires, gut. I assume the lack of further mention in catalogs was due to the strainer design not being very successful, for reasons I’ll speculate upon later. It also makes these drums quite rare. I have only seen one other in Black Elite (Mike Curotto’s) and two more on other Leedy snare drums (not black elites). Mike Curotto stated that, “Other than yours and mine, I’ve only seen or heard maybe 1-2 more. I do have a few wooden ones and a few 2-screw and 4-screw metal Multi-Models. A while back Harry Cangany mentioned to me that the Marvel strainer could be bought separately and retro-fitted as the hole patterns are the same as the other Leedy strainers of the era, so maybe some drummers of yesteryear wanted to ‘upgrade’…?”  The Marvel strainer is listed separately as a part in the Catalog “N” price sheet insert, so this seems quite conceivable (catalog part #63 listed as $7.50 each). “

If it has value, I am happy to include a copy of the article and associate hi-res photos with the drum (I am the author).